More Than 100,000 BGE Customers In The Dark Thanks To Sandy

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — As Sandy leaves Maryland, more than 111,000 BGE customers have lost power. More than 241,000 of them were restored. Baltimore County has the most outages with more than 42,000 customers in the dark, Baltimore City has more than 9,000 and Anne Arundel County has more than 28,000 people without power.

Rochelle Ritchie reports.

About 2,000 out-of-state utility workers are at the staging area at BWI Airport, as they prepare to help out BGE crews once the winds are calm enough to make restoration efforts safe.

BGE is geared up with equipment and utility workers to restore power to customers when Hurricane Sandy knocks out power.

The utility said its crews are on standby throughout our region ready to get the electricity back on. In addition to the 2,000 out-of-state utility workers, more than 2,000 contractors, tree personnel and support staff from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas are also ready to help with restoration efforts.

“We’re going to help these people out to help keep the lights on, get the lights on as soon as possible. Do the best, safe job we could do,” one out-of-state utility worker said.

“Pretty much waiting for whatever’s going to come. I mean, this is what we’ve done. I’ve done it for 13 years. They’re expecting the worst. We hope not but we’re ready for it,” said another utility worker.

“You will see our crews out on the street. There are times during this hurricane when it will make it difficult or they’re unable to do restoration work,” BGE spokesperson Rachel Lighty said. “For example, if there are winds sustained for more than 25 miles per hour or higher, we can’t use our bucket trucks.”

“Dangerous conditions may drive crews to seek safety in company vehicles in and around local communities. Rather than return to staging areas and wait for the storm to pass, this tactic positions utility workers to be closer to actual restoration locations. Repairs will continue once it is safe to do so,” said Jeannette M. Mills, vice president and chief customer officer for BGE.

BGE spent $1 million to increase its storm inventory in preparation of this monster storm.